Visualization of access information

ABSTRACT

A request to access a resource is received from a machine. The request contains machine data. Contextual information is retrieved from the request based on one or more computer operations performed on the machine data. The contextual information contains one or more technical terms in computer technology. The contextual information comprises at least one of the following: information indicating a service provider used to send the request; information indicating a type of hardware device used to send the request; and information indicating a configuration of software used to send the request. An object is associated with the retrieved contextual information. The object has a visual component that symbolizes the one or more technical terms of the contextual information in a visual manner. The object is communicated to an entity.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present application is a continuation application of U.S. PatentApplication No. 13/046,079, filed on Mar. 11, 2011, entitled“Visualization of Access Information”, the content of which is hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention generally relates to monitoring online accessinformation and, more particularly, to sending alerts to users overonline access of a resource.

2. Related Art

Online transactions are becoming more and more prevalent, with anever-increasing number of online entities that may or may not have aphysical real world counterpart. Furthermore, the services offered bythese online entities have been improving as well. The popularity ofonline transactions is partially attributable to the ease andconvenience of making a transaction online instead of at a physicallocation. Unfortunately, the popularity of online transactions has alsoled to an increase in online fraud activities. For example, a person mayillegally obtain access to a victim's online account(s), and may attemptto purchase goods from the victim's account(s). The presence offraudulent online activities underscores the need for careful andconsistent monitoring of users' online activities, including access tothese accounts. This is traditionally performed by both serviceproviders (who look for unusual activity) and users (who detecttransactions they did not perform.) This disclosure focuses on thelatter. Conventional methods of monitoring online activities may be tootechnically complex for an average user. As such, the average user maybecome confused or flustered and may abandon any attempt to monitoronline activities altogether.

Therefore, while existing online activity monitoring mechanisms havebeen generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not beenentirely satisfactory in every aspect. It would be advantageous to offeran online activity monitoring mechanism that is simple and intuitive forthe average user.

SUMMARY

One of the broader forms of the present disclosure involves a method.The method involves: receiving a request to access a resource;retrieving contextual information from the request; and dynamicallyassociating an object with the retrieved contextual information, theobject having at least one of: an audio component and a visual componentthat represent the contextual information in an auditory manner and avisual manner, respectively.

Another one of the broader forms of the present disclosure involves anapparatus comprising a non-transitory, tangible computer readablestorage medium storing a computer program. The computer program hasinstructions that when executed, carry out: receiving a request toaccess a resource; retrieving contextual information from the request;and dynamically associating an object with the retrieved contextualinformation, the object having at least one of: an audio component and avisual component that represent the contextual information in anauditory manner and a visual manner, respectively.

Yet another one of the broader forms of the present disclosure involvesa system. The system involves: means for receiving a request to access aresource; means for retrieving contextual information from the request;means for dynamically associating an object with the retrievedcontextual information, the object having at least one of: an audiocomponent and a visual component that convey the contextual informationin an auditory manner and a visual manner, respectively; and means forcommunicating the object to an entity, wherein the entity is selectedfrom the group consisting of: a machine that is making the request, auser whose account is to be accessed by the request, and arepresentative of the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified block diagram view showing aresource-containing system receiving an access request from a user.

FIG. 2 illustrates a plurality of objects that can be associated withcontextual information.

FIG. 3 illustrates two simplified screenshots of how objects can becommunicated to the user.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of various process flows according tovarious aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of a computer system for implementingvarious methods and devices described according to various aspects ofthe present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to (copyright or mask work) protection. The (copyrightor mask work) owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction byanyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears inthe Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwisereserves all (copyright or mask work) rights whatsoever.

It is to be understood that the following disclosure provides manydifferent embodiments, or examples, for implementing different featuresof the invention. Specific examples of components and arrangements aredescribed below to simplify the present disclosure. These are, ofcourse, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. Variousfeatures may be arbitrarily drawn in different scales for simplicity andclarity.

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a resource-containing system100. The resource-containing system 100 may be configured for allowingInternet access and online transactions. In an embodiment, theresource-containing system 100 may be run by an online merchant who isengaged in selling of products (goods), where products or goods are usedherein to include physical goods, services, or digital/virtual goods.Physical goods may include tangible items, including (but not limitedto) clothing, electronics, tools, toys, household appliances, books,movies, automotive components, sporting equipment, groceries, etc. Thedigital/virtual goods may include goods that are stored, delivered,and/or used in an electronic format. As non-limiting examples, digitalgoods may include electronic-books, digital music files, digital images,digital videos, and other virtual items.

In another embodiment, the resource-containing system 100 may be run byother entities, such as a bank, a utilities (electrical, water, or gas)company, a governmental agency, an auction website, or any other serviceprovider. The resource-containing system 100 may have accounts set upfor users who access the resource-containing system. These user accountsand the physical or non-physical goods may all be considered resources.In addition, electronic information that is needed to access theresource-containing system 100 may also be considered resources. Forexample, such electronic information may include an Internet Protocol(IP) address or a Universal Resource Locator (URL) associated with theresource-containing system 100.

The resource-containing system 100 may receive requests to access itsresources. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, an access request comesfrom a machine 110. The machine 110 may include a desktop computer, alaptop computer, a tablet computer, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)device, a mobile telephone, a headset or other user interface device, oranother suitable device that is configured for network access, whetherby itself or with the help of another device. It is also understood thatalthough only one machine 110 is shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of othermachines similar to the machine 110 may also be sending requests toaccess the resources of the resource-containing system 100.

In an embodiment, the machine 110 is sending the access request under auser 120′s control. The user 120 is human and may or may not have anexisting account with the resource-containing system 100. The user 120may be trying to access the resource-containing system 100 for a numberof reasons. For example, the user 120 may want to do any one of thefollowing: purchasing a product, ordering a service, transferring funds,or simply browsing a website.

To prevent fraud, it is desirable to monitor the user 120's activities.For example, when the access request indicates to theresource-containing system 100 that the user 120 is attempting to make apurchase, it is beneficial to verify that the purchase request is indeedgenerated by the user 120, rather than a fraudster who is illegallyposing as the user. This fraudster may be an unknown criminal or afriend or family member of the user who has not been authorized by theuser to perform the transaction. Hence, the resource-containing system100 may send an alert to the user 120 regarding the access request, forexample through a telephone call, an email, or a text message. In anembodiment, the resource-containing system 100 waits for the user 120 toauthorize the pending transaction before the resource-containing system100 allows its resources to be accessed. In that manner, fraud may beprevented or at least reduced. However, the system may not always beable to detect that a transaction is suspicious. Whether this isdetected or not, the legitimate user will want to be able to review pasttransactions and accesses (whether successful or not), and determinewhether any of these correspond to unwanted activity. This is currentlycomplicated for most users, as the access information is not easilyunderstandable by most users.

Furthermore, monitoring the user 120's activities may also lead toreduction in disputes. As an example, the user 120 may have successfullypurchased on an online merchant's website using a credit card. However,by the time the user 120 receives the credit card bill, many days havepassed since the purchase, and the user may have completely forgottenabout the purchase. To the user 120, the purchase appears to befraudulent. As a result, the user 120 may initiate a dispute with themerchant or the credit card company, alleging the purchase was notauthorized by the user. In many cases, these disputes will lead tocharge-backs, in which the merchant drops the bill and takes the loss.Regardless of whether the user 120 initiated the dispute proceedings ingood faith, such charge-backs may be costly and extremely frustrating tothe merchant and/or the credit card company.

However, if the user's activities have been adequately monitored and arecord of these activities are kept, then the merchant and/or the creditcard company may send a record of the user's purchasing activity to theuser, with details about when, where, and what device was used to makethe purchase. If the user 120 initiated the dispute in good faith, thesedetails may allow the user to recall that he indeed made the purchaseand therefore results in the user cancelling the dispute. Even if theuser 120 initiated the dispute in bad faith, these detailed records ofthe user's activities may require the user to overcome a higher burdenof proof that his account was illegally accessed when the purchase wasmade. The difficulties associated with overcoming the higher burden ofproof may deter the user 120 from initiating the dispute in bad faith,thereby also improving the quality and transparency of onlinetransactions. For these reasons discussed above, it can be seen that itis important and desirable to monitor a user's activities.

Such monitoring may be done by the resource-containing system 100, orthe user 120, or both. According to various aspects of the presentdisclosure, the resource-containing system 100 may extract or retrievecontextual information from the access request sent by the machine 110.In an embodiment, contextual information involves information that canbe used to identify the machine 110, the user 120, or the access requestitself. As non-limiting examples, the contextual information mayinclude:

-   -   information indicating a geographical location (e.g., country,        state, and/or city) from which the access request was sent;    -   information indicating a service provider (e.g., an Internet        service provider) used to send the request;    -   information indicating a type of hardware device (e.g., the        machine 110) used to send the request;    -   information indicating a configuration of software (e.g.,        operating system or browser) used to send the request.    -   application used to initiate the request (e.g., a game in which        a payment platform can be accessed by the user to perform        in-game transactions).    -   type of transaction (e.g., the type of merchandise purchased, or        the merchant to which the purchase was performed).    -   historical (past) transaction information, which can be        accumulated to form a pattern over time.        These types of contextual information and their retrieval        methods are discussed in more detail below.

The resource-containing system 100 may include an interface module 130containing software and hardware that allow the interface module toreceive the access request from the machine 110. The resource-containingsystem 100 may also include an information-retrieving module 140containing software and hardware that allow the information-retrievingmodule to retrieve or extract the contextual information from the accessrequest. In an embodiment, the information-retrieving module 140 mayperform a reverse IP address lookup operation on the access request. Inmore detail, the access request contains an IP address, which is anumerical label assigned to each device (e.g., computer, printer)participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol forcommunication. Using this IP address of the access request, the reverseIP address lookup operation can extract contextual information such asthe geographical location from which the access request is sent and/orthe Internet service provider used to send it. As an example, thereverse IP address lookup operation may reveal that the access requestis sent from the city of San Francisco in the state of California. Asanother example, the reverse IP address lookup operation may also revealthat the access request is sent using AT&T® as the Internet provider.

In an embodiment, the information-retrieving module 140 may also performa Media Access Control (MAC) address lookup operation in addition to thereverse IP address lookup operation. A MAC address is a uniqueidentifier (typically assigned by a manufacturer) of a network devicefor facilitating communications on a physical network. For example, MACaddresses are generally used in the MAC protocol sub-layer of the OpenSystems Interconnection (OSI) model. A substantial majority of today'scomputers and wireless devices have their own unique MAC addresses. Theinterface module 130 can retrieve the MAC address of the machine 110,and the MAC address lookup operation performed by theinformation-retrieving module 140 reveals hardware information of themachine 110. For example, the MAC address lookup operation may revealthat the machine 110 is a LENOVO THINKPAD® T510 laptop. As anotherexample, MAC address lookup operation may reveal that the machine 110 isan APPLE IPHONE 4® mobile telephone.

In an embodiment, the information-retrieving module 140 may identify aSIM card identifier, and associate this identifier with an account.

In an embodiment, the information-retrieving module 140 may also extractsoftware or hardware configuration information from the access request.For example, through communication with a browser, the access requestsent by the machine 110 may contain information such as what type ofoperating system (e.g., WINDOWS® or UNIX®), is installed on the machine110, what type of Internet browser (e.g., INTERNET EXPLORER® orFIREFOX®) is used by the machine 110, or even the character and font set(English, German, Arabic, or Chinese) is used by the machine 110. Thesetypes of contextual information may also be retrieved. In otherembodiments, “cookies” (a piece of text stored on a computer by its webbrowser) may also be used to retrieve contextual information includingwebsite preferences, shopping cart contents, an identifier for aserver-based session, or computer activity histories. The contextualinformation may also include historical requests, for example the pasttransaction information associated with a specific user.

It is understood that the contextual information and their retrievalmethods discussed above merely serve as non-limiting examples, and thatin alternative embodiments, other types of contextual information, suchas device identifiers, may be retrieved using the approaches discussedabove or by alternative methods. However, they are not discussed hereinfor the sake of simplicity.

Once retrieved, it may be desirable to communicate the contextualinformation back to the user 120, as a part of the user activitymonitoring. However, traditional methods and systems have been unable tocommunicate the contextual information to the user 120 in a meaningfuland intuitive manner. One reason for such ineffective communication isdue to the disparity in terms of computer technical knowledge between anaverage user and a systems operator/administrator in charge ofcommunicating the contextual information. In more detail, most systemsoperators/administrators typically have a very good grasp of computersand networking operations. To these “techies,” casual references totechnical terms such as “IP addresses,” “MAC addresses,” or “cookies”may appear instantly intuitive. Therefore, it may not cross their mindsthat an example alert such as “Dear user, we have detected an attemptedaccess to your account from a computer with the IP address of123.53.64.43. Please confirm this is really you.” may appear completelycryptic to an average user with no advanced computer or networkingtraining. As a result, these monitoring alerts may confuse and frustratethe user, and may even discourage the user from allowing futuremonitoring of his activities. Therefore, for the monitoring to beeffective and successful, an intuitive monitoring alert is desired.

Here, the resource-containing system 100 may include aobject-association module 150 that helps make the monitoringuser-friendly. Instead of relying on the user 120 to understandtechnical terms, the object-association module 150 associates simple andintuitive objects to the extracted contextual information. The objectsmay include a visual component, or an audio component, or both. Theobjects may be well-known or publicly-known. Some example objects areillustrated in FIG. 2. It is understood that in some embodiments, theinterface module 130, the information-retrieving module 140, and theobject-association module 150 may be integrated together, completely orpartially.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, if the information-retrieving module 140detects that the access request is sent from San Francisco, Calif., theobject-association module 150 can associate this geographical contextualinformation with an object 160 that displays the Golden Gate Bridge(which is a symbol representing San Francisco). As another example, ifthe information-retrieving module 140 detects that the access request issent using AT&T as a service provider, the object-association module 150can associate this service-provider contextual information with anobject 165 that is a logo of AT&T. As a further example, if theinformation-retrieving module 140 detects that the machine sending theaccess request is the APPLE IPHONE 4®, the object-association module 150can associate this hardware contextual information with an object 170that is a picture of the IPHONE 4®. As yet another example, if theinformation-retrieving module 140 detects that the machine 110 isrunning the WINDOWS 7® operating system (OS), the object-associationmodule 150 can associate this OS configuration contextual informationwith an object 175 that is a logo of WINDOWS 7®. In one more example, ifthe information-retrieving module 140 detects that the access request issent via FIREFOX® as a browser, the object-association module 150 canassociate this browser configuration contextual information with anobject 180 that is a logo of FIREFOX®. In yet another example, if theinformation-retrieving module 140 detects that the browser has theGerman character set installed, the object-association module 150 canassociate this language contextual information with an object 185 thatis a flag of Germany.

It is understood that the objects 160-185 discussed above merely serveas non-limiting examples as to what type of items can be considered asobjects. In fact, anything item that can easily and intuitively conveythe underlying contextual information may serve as objects. For example,since the objects can have an audio component, the object 160representing the location of San Francisco may also include a song, suchas the song “if you are going to San Francisco,” and the object 175representing the Windows 7® operating system may also include thestandard WINDOWS® chime sound, and the object 185 representing theGerman language set may also include the sound byte “gutentag.”

The objects 160-185 and numerous additional suitable objects may bestored in an electronic database, which may be implemented inside oroutside the resource-containing system 100. The resource-containingsystem 100 may also include software programs containing algorithms thatautomatically determine (for example without human input) which objectsshould be associated with a piece of retrieved contextual information.In other embodiments, human operators or administrators may also becalled upon to determine a suitable object to be associated with theretrieved contextual information.

After suitable object(s) are associated with the context information,the interface module 130 may then communicate the object to the machine110 or the user 120, for example in the form of an alert message. In anembodiment, the interface module 130 may display and/or play the objecton a screen of the machine 110. For example, refer to FIG. 3, ascreenshot 200 containing the object 160 (picture of the Golden GateBridge) may be displayed on the machine, with an accompanying message“You are accessing this website from San Francisco, Calif.” In anotherembodiment, the interface module 130 may send a text message or an emailcontaining the object to the user 120, and may ask the user to confirmthe access request indeed came from the user before granting the accessrequest. For example, the user 120 may have an email or a mobiletelephone number linked with his account. Shown in screenshot 210, theuser 120 may receive an email or a text message displaying the object160 and an accompanying text stating “Hello Mr. XYZ, we have detectedthat you are trying to access our website from San Francisco, Calif. Isthat really you? Please confirm your identity before we proceed withyour transaction.” The email or text message may include a link 215 onwhich the user 120 can click to confirm his identity.

In other embodiments, one or more objects may be communicated to theuser 120 in different ways, such as text or words only without acorresponding image or audio. For example, the user may simply see orhear that the request was communicated from a particular location,through a particular device, and/or through a particular service.Regardless of the specific mechanism of communication, the end result isthat the user 120 can now intuitively understand what is happening. Inother words, the user 120 need not decode or sort through confusingtechnical jargon, since the complex technical details are communicatedto the user in a simple and intuitive manner that the user can nowunderstand. In this manner, contextual access information relevant tothe transaction can be visualized, which greatly enhances thefeasibility and ease of monitoring the user's activities. Suspicioustransactions can now be easily flagged to the user 120, and the user canaudit through the list of flagged transactions and understand what ishappening.

It is understood that the communication of the objects is not limited tothe machine 110 or the user 120. A representative or a guardian of theuser 120 may be contacted in instead (or in addition to the user). As anexample, the user 120 may be an underage child. Therefore, the interfacemodule 130 may send communication to the parent of the user 120 instead.The parent may then decide how to proceed on the user's behalf.

The resource-containing system 100 can also store historical accessinformation for any given user, and display to the user the past access(whether successful or unsuccessful information). For example, thesystem 100 can store the historical access information (which are stillconsidered contextual information) for a given user, which can be doneusing a database. For example, the historical access information mayinclude all the specific times and locations from which the given usermade requests to access the system. Once the system 100 detects that thegiven user is making the access request, the system can retrieve thestored historical access information for that given user and display thehistorical access information back to the user by way of objects. Inother words, the system cam display each instance of historical accesswith its associated object to the user. In this manner, the user canintuitively identify and monitor his historical activities.

In terms of object association, the present disclosure also involves auser feedback mechanism. In addition to (or instead of) the objectsavailable from the database storing these objects, theresource-containing system 100 may prompt the user 120 to upload one ormore user-defined objects to associate with a particular piece ofcontextual information. As an example, the user 120 may be prompted by amessage stating “Mr. XYZ, we have detected your current location beingSan Francisco, Calif. Please click on the following link to upload animage that you would like to associate with your current location.” Inresponse to this prompt, the user 120 may upload a picture (e.g., apicture of his house) to the resource-containing system 100. Theobject-association module 150 will then associate this user-definedimage with the location of San Francisco. Thereafter, when the user 120accesses the resource-containing system 100, the resource-containingsystem will display the picture of the user's house if it detects thatthe user's location is in San Francisco.

The user feedback mechanism discussed above may also be used to allowthe user 120 to tag or otherwise designate other contextual informationin a way that makes sense to the user. For example, the user 120 may taga particular piece of contextual information with “Ted's house” or“Coupa café.” Some of these tags may be meaningful only to a given userand are only presented to the given user as the user audits the list offlagged transactions. Other tags may be meaningful to other users aswell, and may therefore be integrated into the database after beingvalidated. The resource-containing system 100 may also let other userschoose these user-defined objects as their own objects. Furthermore, thefeedback mechanism may allow the user 120 to add reminders, such as“Could this be Jim's phone? Check with him.”

The feedback mechanism also allows the user 120 to identify incorrectlyassociated objects. For example, the user 120 may be physically locatedin Indiana, but the user's Internet service provider may be located inChicago and may run a communication cable from Chicago to Indiana. Inthis case, the reverse IP address lookup operation discussed above mayindicate that the user's location is in Chicago rather than Indiana.Consequently, an object depicting Chicago may be incorrectly associatedwith the retrieved false geographical information. However, when thisobject depicting Chicago is communicated to the user 120, the feedbackmechanism allows the user to inform the resource-containing system 100that he is actually located in Indiana, not Chicago. In response, theresource-containing system 100 may correctly associate an image ofIndiana with the user's location. The resource-containing system 100 mayalso be intelligent enough to map the user's neighboring addresses toIndiana subsequently as well.

Also in an embodiment, the object communicated to the user 120 may havedifferent degrees of granularity. For example, if the user 120 islocated in Texas, then the object associated with the user'sgeographical information may contain information regarding the specificcities in Texas, for example Houston or Dallas. Whereas if the user 120is located outside of Texas, then the object associated with the user'sgeographical information may merely include an image of the state ofTexas, rather than the specific cities.

Some commercially available systems allow users to choose a certainimage or icon to be displayed every time when the user logs on to thesystem for security reasons. The present disclosure differs from thesecommercially availably systems in several aspects. First, thesecommercially available systems only retrieve the user's logininformation, which is at best a subset of the contextual informationdiscussed above. The contextual information includes other types ofinformation such as the user's location, the type of device used to makethe resource access request, the service provider used to make therequest, the software and hardware configurations of the machine used tomake the request, etc.

Second, these commercially available systems essentially link a “static”image or icon to the user's login information. Thus, these static imagesor icons do not change unless the user decides to change them later. Incontrast, the objects discussed above are not static but are ratherdynamic. Stated differently, the objects are dynamically associated withthe user's contextual information, based on what the retrievedcontextual information entails. For example, if the retrieved contextualinformation involves the user's location, then one object may beassociated. On the other hand, if the retrieved contextual informationinvolves the user's device, then a different object may be associated.The object to be associated is not set in stone or predetermined untilafter the contextual information is retrieved. Hence, the object maychange every time the user logs on to the system, even if the userremains the same.

Third, the images or icons supplied by the commercially availablesystems typically do not convey any underlying information that iscarried by the retrieved contextual information. As an example, abanking web site may display pictures of random objects such as amountain, an animal, a chessboard, or the sky to a user and ask the userto pick one of these images as his login image. The user chooses one ofthese images, say the mountain as his linked image. Thereafter, eachtime the user logs on to the banking web site, the image of the mountainis displayed. But the problem is that the image of the mountain tellsnothing useful about the user's contextual information. For example,this mountain image does not disclose whether the access requestoriginates from, or the type of device that is used to make the accessrequest. Hence, these predetermined static images are not very useful tothe user due at least in part to their lack of ability to conveymeaningful information. In contrast, the objects in the presentdisclosure convey meaningful information to the user. Each object iscapable to signify, embody, symbolize, stand for, or characterize thecontextual information to the user. For example, most people caninstantly recognize that a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge symbolizesSan Francisco, and as such, the geographical information regarding theaccess request can be conveyed to the user intuitively.

The above differences are merely examples and are not meant to belimiting. The present disclosure is different from and offers advantagesover prior art systems in other ways, but they are not discussed hereinfor the sake of simplicity.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method 220 of visualizing accessinformation according to the discussions above. The method 220 includesa block 230 in which a request to access a resource is received. Forexample, a resource-containing system may receive a request to accessits resources from a machine. The method 220 continues with block 240 inwhich contextual information is retrieved from the request. Contextualinformation may include, but is not limited to, geographicalinformation, service provider information, or hardware and softwareconfiguration information. The contextual information may be retrievedusing methods such as reverse IP address lookup or MAC address lookup,or through browser communication. The method 220 continues with block250 in which an object is dynamically associated with the retrievedcontextual information. The object may contain visual and/or audioinformation that can represent, signify, embody, symbolize, stand for,characterize, or otherwise convey the retrieved contextual informationin a meaningful way. Thus, the object enables a user to intuitively andeasily understand the relevant contextual information so as tofacilitate the monitoring of his activities. The object may be apublicly-known object stored in a database or may be a user-definedobject that can be uploaded by a user. The association of the object isdone in a dynamic fashion, meaning that the object to be associated maychange depending on the retrieved contextual information. Even if theuser who is making the request remains the same, the object may changeto reflect the changes in the retrieved contextual information. Themethod 220 continues with block 260 in which the object is communicatedto an entity. The object may be displayed to the user or may be emailedor texted to the user. Authorization from the user may be requiredbefore resource access is granted. It is understood that the method 220may include additional blocks that may be executed before, during, orafter any of the blocks 230-260.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a computer system 300 suitable forimplementing various methods and devices described herein, for example,the various method blocks of the method 200. In various implementations,user devices (such as managed by the prospective buyer) may comprise anetwork communications device (e.g., mobile cellular phone, laptop,personal computer, etc.) capable of communicating with a network, and aservice provider device (such as managed by a third party paymentplatform) may comprise a network computing device (e.g., a networkserver). In other implementations, it should be appreciated that theservice provider device may comprise a network communications device(e.g., mobile cellular phone, laptop, personal computer, etc.) capableof communicating with the network, without departing from the scope ofthe present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that eachof the devices may be implemented as the computer system 300 forcommunication with the network in a manner as follows.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, thecomputer system 300, such as a mobile communications device and/or anetwork server, includes a bus component 302 or other communicationmechanisms for communicating information, which interconnects subsystemsand components, such as processing component 304 (e.g., processor,micro-controller, digital signal processor (DSP), etc.), system memorycomponent 306 (e.g., RAM), static storage component 308 (e.g., ROM),disk drive component 310 (e.g., magnetic or optical), network interfacecomponent 312 (e.g., modem or Ethernet card), display component 314(e.g., cathode ray tube (CRT) or liquid crystal display (LCD)), inputcomponent 316 (e.g., keyboard), cursor control component 318 (e.g.,mouse or trackball), and image capture component 320 (e.g., analog ordigital camera). In one implementation, disk drive component 310 maycomprise a database having one or more disk drive components.

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, computersystem 300 performs specific operations by processor 304 executing oneor more sequences of one or more instructions contained in system memorycomponent 306. Such instructions may be read into system memorycomponent 306 from another computer readable medium, such as staticstorage component 308 or disk drive component 310. In other embodiments,hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of (or in combination with)software instructions to implement the present disclosure.

Logic may be encoded in a computer readable medium, which may refer toany medium that participates in providing instructions to processor 304for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but notlimited to, non-volatile media and volatile media. In one embodiment,the computer readable medium is non-transitory. In variousimplementations, non-volatile media includes optical or magnetic disks,such as disk drive component 310, and volatile media includes dynamicmemory, such as system memory component 306. In one aspect, data andinformation related to execution instructions may be transmitted tocomputer system 300 via a transmission media, such as in the form ofacoustic or light waves, including those generated during radio wave andinfrared data communications. In various implementations, transmissionmedia may include coaxial cables, copper wire, and fiber optics,including wires that comprise bus 302.

Some common forms of computer readable media includes, for example,floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magneticmedium, CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, anyother physical medium with patterns of holes, RAM, PROM, EPROM,FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, carrier wave, or anyother medium from which a computer is adapted to read.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, execution ofinstruction sequences to practice the present disclosure may beperformed by computer system 300. In various other embodiments of thepresent disclosure, a plurality of computer systems 300 coupled bycommunication link 330 (e.g., a communications network, such as a LAN,WLAN, PTSN, and/or various other wired or wireless networks, includingtelecommunications, mobile, and cellular phone networks) may performinstruction sequences to practice the present disclosure in coordinationwith one another.

Computer system 300 may transmit and receive messages, data, informationand instructions, including one or more programs (i.e., applicationcode) through communication link 330 and communication interface 312.Received program code may be executed by processor 304 as receivedand/or stored in disk drive component 310 or some other non-volatilestorage component for execution.

Where applicable, various embodiments provided by the present disclosuremay be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations of hardwareand software. Also, where applicable, the various hardware componentsand/or software components set forth herein may be combined intocomposite components comprising software, hardware, and/or both withoutdeparting from the spirit of the present disclosure. Where applicable,the various hardware components and/or software components set forthherein may be separated into sub-components comprising software,hardware, or both without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. In addition, where applicable, it is contemplated thatsoftware components may be implemented as hardware components andvice-versa.

Software, in accordance with the present disclosure, such as computerprogram code and/or data, may be stored on one or more computer readablemediums. It is also contemplated that software identified herein may beimplemented using one or more general purpose or specific purposecomputers and/or computer systems, networked and/or otherwise. Whereapplicable, the ordering of various steps described herein may bechanged, combined into composite steps, and/or separated into sub-stepsto provide features described herein.

It should be appreciated that like reference numerals are used toidentify like elements illustrated in one or more of the figures,wherein these labeled figures are for purposes of illustratingembodiments of the present disclosure and not for purposes of limitingthe same.

The foregoing disclosure is not intended to limit the present disclosureto the precise forms or particular fields of use disclosed. As such, itis contemplated that various alternate embodiments and/or modificationsto the present disclosure, whether explicitly described or impliedherein, are possible in light of the disclosure. Having thus describedembodiments of the present disclosure, persons of ordinary skill in theart will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the presentdisclosure is limited only by the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving, from a machine,a request to access a resource, the request containing machine data;retrieving contextual information from the request based on one or morecomputer operations performed on the machine data, wherein thecontextual information contains one or more technical terms in computertechnology, wherein the contextual information comprises at least one ofthe following: information indicating a service provider used to sendthe request; information indicating a type of hardware device used tosend the request; and information indicating a configuration of softwareused to send the request; associating an object with the retrievedcontextual information, the object having a visual component thatsymbolizes the one or more technical terms of the contextual informationin a visual manner; and communicating the object to an entity.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the entity is selected from the groupconsisting of: a machine that is making the request, the user whoseaccount is to be accessed by the request, and a representative of theuser.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the communicating the objectcomprises displaying the object to the entity.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the contextual information further comprises informationindicating a geographical location from which the request is sent. 5.The method of claim 1, wherein the contextual information furthercomprises historical access information associated with a user.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the retrieving comprises performing at leastone of the following actions: performing a Media Access Control (MAC)address lookup; and communicating with a browser.
 7. The method of claim1, wherein the visual component comprises a picture or a symbol.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the technical terms in computer technologycomprise at least one of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, Media AccessProtocol (MAC) addresses, and cookies.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinthe object further comprises an audio component.
 10. A non-transitorymachine-readable medium having stored thereon machine-readableinstructions executable to cause a machine to perform operationscomprising: receiving, from a machine, a request to access a resource;retrieving a Media Access Protocol (MAC) address of the machine orretrieving cookies from the machine; determining hardware or softwareconfiguration information about the machine based on at least one of:the retrieved MAC address or the retrieved cookies; associating anobject with the determined hardware or software configurationinformation, the object having a visual component that symbolizes thehardware or software configuration information in a visual manner; andcommunicating the object to an entity.
 11. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the entity is selected fromthe group consisting of: a machine that is making the request, a userwhose account is to be accessed by the request, and a representative ofthe user.
 12. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 10,wherein the instructions for communicating the object comprisesinstructions for displaying the object to the entity.
 13. Thenon-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the hardwareor software configuration information comprises at least one of thefollowing: information indicating a geographical location from which therequest is sent; information indicating a service provider used to sendthe request; information indicating a type of hardware device used tosend the request; and information indicating a configuration of softwareused to send the request.
 14. The non-transitory machine-readable mediumof claim 10, wherein the hardware or software configuration informationcomprises historical access information associated with a user.
 15. Thenon-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the visualcomponent comprises a picture or a symbol.
 16. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the object being associatedvaries in granularity depending on a geographical location of the user.17. A system, comprising: a non-transitory memory storing executableinstructions; and one or more hardware processors coupled to thenon-transitory memory and configured to read instructions from thenon-transitory memory to cause the system to perform operationscomprising: receiving, from a machine, a request to access an account ofa user, the request containing machine data; retrieving contextualinformation from the request based the machine data, wherein thecontextual information contains one or more technical terms in computertechnology, wherein the retrieving comprises one or more of: retrievinginformation indicating a service provider used to send the request;retrieving information indicating a type of hardware device used to sendthe request; and retrieving information indicating a configuration ofsoftware used to send the request; associating an object with theretrieved contextual information, the object having at least one of: anaudio component or a visual component that symbolizes the one or moretechnical terms of the contextual information in an auditory manner or avisual manner, respectively; and communicating the object to an entity,wherein the entity is selected from the group consisting of: a machinethat is making the request, the user, and a representative of the user.18. The system of claim 17, wherein the contextual information compriseshistorical access information associated with a user.
 19. The system ofclaim 17, wherein the associating the object comprises at least one ofthe following: performing a Media Access Control (MAC) address lookup;and communicating with a browser.
 20. The system of claim 17, whereinthe visual component comprises a picture or a symbol.
 21. The system ofclaim 17, wherein the technical terms in computer technology comprise atleast one of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, Media Access Protocol(MAC) addresses, and cookies.
 22. The system of claim 17, wherein theobject being associated varies in granularity depending on ageographical location of the user.